SOCIAL STUDIES: DJ Cuzzin B An Interview with the Busiest Man on 'Two' Turntables

Originally from St. Louis, MO, DJ Cuzzin B has rocked crowds all over the world with the True School Corporation (9th Wonder) as well as his own DJ collective, Point Blank DJ's. DJ Cuzzin B is one of the best and most active DJ's in the area. It doesn't matter if it's a day party at CIAA Weekend, or one of his many regular DJ sets around the city, this DJ will definitely make your day (or night). In a time when anyone with a computer and a pair of Beats By Dre headphones can call themselves a "DJ", Cuzzin B is a throwback, someone who lets his skills, not his co-signs, speak for him.

The Washington Informer caught up with DJ Cuzzin B before his DJ set at Muse Lounge to discuss connecting with 9th Wonder, his Soul 4 Sale mixtape series, and how exactly did he come up with his very family orientated DJ name.

Washington Informer: So, when did you start DJ'ing?

DJ Cuzzin B: I started DJ'ing in the late'90's...actually mid-'90's, mid to late'90's. I started off the usual way, doing house parties and at the skating rink back home in St. Louis during my junior/senior year in high school. I really got my feet wet when I went off to college in Mississippi. That's where I really got all of the know-how as far as rocking clubs and doing that kind of stuff, so I say like '97, '98, something like that.

Washington Informer: You grew up in St. Louis, you now live in Maryland. How did growing up in the Midwest influence you musically?

DJ Cuzzin B: I couldn't ask for a better place to grow up musically because we got it from every angle. I mean, St. Louis is right smack dab in the middle of the country. So we listened to west coast, we listened to east coast; we had a big, big southern influence. So, from a hip hop point of view, it was super ideal because we pretty much listened to everything as far as hip hop was concerned just because it came from all angles. We listened to a lot of NWA, 8 Ball and MJG, UGK, stuff like that. I will say it was definitely a lot more southern appeal, but back in those days, southern hip hop wasn't as big as it was now. [Laughs] When I was in high school, they used to call me "Little East Coast", because I was listening to Wu Tang, I was listening to Mic Geronimo, I was listening to DITC, Fat Joe, that kinda stuff. I was listening to that stuff when the masses, they weren't really messing with it just yet.

Washington Informer: Who were some of your musical influences?

DJCuzzin B: Stevie Wonder is the king to me. Like, nothing or nobody can touch Stevie Wonder, period. That's when I really, really, started getting' into music. Like when I started going through my Mom's records in the basement, when I blew the dust off of Songs In The Key Of Life, that's when I really wanted to find out everything I could know about music because he (Stevie Wonder) was just so creative and so ahead of his time and just so, so incredible. So, Stevie Wonder is the end-all-be-all. The big influence, deejay wise, for me, was this guy named DJ Kut in St. Louis. He was the first dude I heard on the radio playing everything. Other influences, of course, Jam Master J, Red Alert, and DJ Scrap.